Exodus 35-40

What’s Happening?

After Israel’s idolatry with the golden calf, God declares that his relationship with his people has fundamentally changed. God will still bring Israel to the land he promised, but he will no longer personally lead them. An angel will go instead (Exodus 33:1–6). Israel will still reach the destination, but God’s presence will now be kept at a distance.

This distance immediately reshapes how God relates to his people. Previously, God promised to meet with all of Israel in the Tabernacle (Exodus 29:42–43). Now, a separate tent is placed far outside the camp, and only Moses and his aide Joshua may enter it (Exodus 33:7–11). What once was central is now removed. God is still present, but no longer among them in the same way.

Even the way God reveals himself has changed. Earlier, God descended on Mount Sinai in visible fire for the whole nation to see (Exodus 24:16–17). Now, when God passes by Moses, he comes in a cloud, and Moses is only allowed to see the afterglow of God’s presence (Exodus 33:17–23; 34:5). God explains that unmediated closeness is no longer possible. His presence, which once instilled fear to prevent disobedience (Exodus 20:20), now has a different purpose—to extend mercy and compassion to a disobedient people (Exodus 33:19). Israel’s idolatry has reshaped the terms of their relationship with God.

Yet God does not abandon his people. In compassion, he calls Moses back up Mount Sinai to restore what was lost (Exodus 34:1–3). As God rewrites the terms of their covenant, he reveals something new about himself. Before Israel’s failure, God defined himself as the one who rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 20:1–2). After their sin, God defines himself as “compassionate and gracious… forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin” (Exodus 34:4–7). God recommits himself to Israel and promises to lead them into the land and defeat their enemies (Exodus 34:8–12). This renewed covenant places a renewed emphasis on resisting idolatry (Exodus 34:13–28).

When Moses descends the mountain this time, the scene is reversed. Before, Moses was horrified by Israel’s sin. Now Israel is horrified by Moses. His face shines with reflected glory from God’s presence (Exodus 34:29–30). Moses begins wearing a veil as he speaks to the people, symbolizing another lasting change. God’s glory will now always be mediated. Israel will experience God’s presence indirectly, through a representative, and even then, behind a veil (Exodus 34:33–35).

Yet despite these changes, God still desires to live with his people. He renews his promise to dwell among Israel in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:8–9). And this time, Israel responds differently. Moved by God’s mercy, the people willingly bring offerings and commit themselves to obedience (Exodus 35:20–21). God fills Bezalel with his Spirit to lead the work, and Israel carefully completes every instruction God had given (Exodus 35:30–35).

The final chapters of Exodus may feel repetitive, but they are extraordinary. Nearly word-for-word, Israel fulfills God’s commands exactly as he had spoken them. Over and over, we are told that they did everything “just as the Lord commanded Moses” (Exodus 39:5). For the first time, Israel is no longer resisting, grumbling, or rebelling. They are listening.

At last, God’s presence descends on the completed Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34–38). God lives with his people again and personally leads them through the wilderness. The book of Exodus ends with what it has been moving toward all along: God dwelling with his redeemed people in a restored, Eden-like space.

Where is the Gospel?

God living with Israel in the Tabernacle fulfills one of God’s original purposes for humanity. The Garden of Eden was God’s first dwelling place. There, God lived, worked, and rested with humans (Genesis 1–2). When humanity rebelled, they were exiled from God’s presence (Genesis 3:23). The Tabernacle is the closest humanity has come to Eden since that exile.

But the Tabernacle was never meant to be the final form of God’s presence. It was limited, mediated, and veiled. God desired something greater.

That is why God came ie in Jesus. Jesus did not dwell behind a curtain or speak through a representative. He became human and “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). In Jesus, God’s glory took on flesh. God’s compassion walked among sinners. God came close without destroying those who needed mercy.

Where Moses ascended the mountain to restore a broken relationship, Jesus descended from heaven to heal ours. Where God’s glory once had to be veiled, Jesus revealed it openly (Hebrews 1:1–3). Where Israel could only see the afterglow of God’s presence, Jesus embodied it fully.

Jesus then promised something even greater. He said God’s Spirit would no longer dwell in tents or buildings but in people (John 16:7). Just as God’s Spirit filled Bezalel to lead Israel in faithful obedience, God’s Spirit now fills God’s people to form them into his image. God no longer lives near his people—he lives within them.

Through Jesus, God’s original intention is restored and expanded. God is once again creating a new Eden, not centered in a garden or a tent, but in a people. And one day, that dwelling will be complete. God will live with humanity fully and forever, with no veils, no distance, and no separation (1 John 3:2).

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit would open your eyes to see the God who desires to live with his people. And may you see Jesus as the one who removed the distance, tore away the veil, and made God’s dwelling place among us again.